Having put my thoughts and feelings in order after the finale (not) I think I've come to a personal conclusion about what the overarching theme of Vampires was.
Because, yes, it's about trust and it's about love and it's about mob mentality and the inherent fallibility of us vs. them and it's about what truly makes a monster. It's even an analogy for queerness!
But most importantly (imo), it's about choice. The ability to make a choice, the ability to not make a choice, and even having that agency stripped from you entirely.
Pyro, who was a man and became a monster or was a monster who took the form of a man, what's the difference? Pyro, who had choice taken from him and was mocked for it. Pyro, feared and pitied and stigmatized, who answered the taunts in the only way he knew how: teeth and claws. Pyro, who chose his killer the moment he hammered the stake in. Pyro, who sealed his own fate by becoming what everyone thought he always was. Pyro, who was never given the space to make another choice, who died an unloved, unlovely thing, more beast than person.
Martyn, who always fought for what he thought was right. Martyn, who trusted Apo despite, despite, despite. Martyn, who chose his people and stuck with them until the very end. Martyn, whose trust left him on the ground, gasping out his life. Martyn, who never knew whose blood ran through his veins, who thought it would just be a blink. Martyn, who never told anyone his true self, right up until the end. Martyn, who died saying I'll see you in a second.
Ren, who couldn't bear to watch. Ren, who chose the light over and over again, despite temptation. Ren, who only knew when it was too late. Ren, who chose peace despite his misgivings, and then had all those fears vindicated. Ren, who fought a town, who had to be put down like a rabid dog.
Owen, who chose vengeance. Owen, who keeps choosing vengeance even when there's no one left to avenge. Owen, racked with grief, becoming the fangs and claws Louis never wanted. Owen, becoming the very thing he hated so much. Owen, who carved his own hate into Legs, creating a terrible, awful legacy of pain. Owen, who chooses not to live with the weight of his actions. Owen, who chose his own death for the first and last time, and was not reviled for it.
Legs, who always strived to atone. Legs, who begged for an end and was given eternity instead. Legs, whose choice was ignored for one man's final act of vengeance. Legs, who was given the chance to say yes, kill them all and instead said no, I won't. Legs, who made one horrible, final choice. Legs, who chose to save the body.
...Avid, whose pace and breadth of life was measured out from the moment he was bitten. Avid, who laid his cards out the moment he entered Oakhurst, and who never won the game. Avid, who just didn't want to die. Avid, who chose vampirism over the unknown and lost it anyways. Avid, who never got to choose anything, who just wanted to stop being afraid. Avid, who died alone in the dark because his murderers were afraid of their own reflections.
Drift, who has always been herself. Drift, who has to live knowing she's left Avid behind. Drift, who never chose vampirism, but makes the best of the hand she's been dealt. Drift, who chooses to forgive, because she knows what it's like to lose someone too. Drift, who isn't afraid anymore. Drift, who chooses to make a home.
Abolish, who thinks it's all just work, really. Abolish, who didn't choose his job, but does what he needs to. Abolish, who just came to make a grave and go. Abolish, who killed without blinking an eye and never bothered to wash the blood away. Abolish, who showed kindness in those last moments, who offered choice to a man who'd never had one before. Abolish, who chooses to let them leave.
Sausage, who didn't really understand what he chose. Sausage, who saw the gleam of eternity and reached out to catch it. Sausage, who watched as his friends died in fear, in fury, and who grieved them alone. Sausage, who can't forgive Apo for what she did. Sausage, who chooses to live anyways.
Apo, who was never given a choice. Apo who was drafted, Apo who was turned, Apo who asked for it. Apo, who never asked for any of it. Apo who only ever wanted to go home. Apo, who lied and betrayed and killed for herself, and for Cherri. Apo, with no sides left except her own, becoming everyone's enemy for a chance of escape. Apo, who chooses to go home. Apo, who doesn't know if there's anything left of her but monstrosity. Apo, who still hopes she'll be welcomed home with open arms.
Shelby, who always tried to be kind. Shelby, who remembered what it was like to burn and chose salvation over revenge. Shelby, who just wanted to find Bigfoot. Shelby, who never stopped being herself but chose a means to an end. Shelby, who never regretted driving the stake through Pyro's heart for what he'd done. Shelby, who grieves with such aching sincerity. Shelby, who accepts the choice that was taken from her and the person who took it. Shelby, who makes meaning in her own life, despite everything.
Scott, who decides to change. Scott, who visits the grave of a man he thought he hated. Scott, who is still selfish and prideful and who never apologizes for what he's done. Scott, who does not deserve redemption, but who chooses it anyways. Scott, who speaks to Owen's grave, who hopes, for the doctor's sake, that he's not like him. Scott, who is not good and who maybe never will be, but who tries anyways. Scott, who gets to see the world change and grow, for everyone who can't.
Pearl, who just wanted to make a home. Pearl, who felt the claws and teeth under her skin and still remained stubbornly herself until the end. Pearl, who stays herself even after the end. Pearl, who wavers and stumbles but always perseveres. Pearl, who chooses her turning like no other vampire truly has. Pearl, who chooses Cleo, again and again and again. Pearl, who says you're staying?
Cleo, who writes letters to the dead. Cleo, who lives in memoriam. Cleo, who saw their own fangs through another's eyes, and learned what it was to love themself. Cleo, who killed before she even knew how the blood would stain her hands. Cleo, who chooses the life they never thought they deserved. Cleo, who chooses Pearl, again and again and again. Cleo, who says well, you're staying, aren't you?
